Police blitz nets 57 vehicles
POLICE in Harare have impounded 57 vehicles under the ongoing operation “Batai Munhu” which was recently launched to curb rising armed robberies in and around the city.
Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector Tadius Chibanda said some of the vehicles were taken to the Vehicle Theft Squad for vetting. Among the vehicles were those that were impounded for picking up passengers at undesignated points, including kombis and other private vehicles.
“The operation is continuing and we are still in the process of identifying some of the criminals who were behind such crimes. We will soon call the victims to assist with investigations,” he said.
The operation would target criminals, kombis and private vehicles being used to commit robberies. It also involves Central Vehicle Registry, Vehicle Inspection Department, city council and Zimbabwe National Road Administration officials.
According to police, plain robberies were on the increase while armed robberies were declining compared to last year’s figures. Some criminals are also using vehicles to offer lifts to unsuspecting people before pouncing on them.
Police are targeting vehicles such as Toyota Ipsum, Toyota Gaia, Toyota Raum, Toyota Altezza, Toyota Vitz, Toyota Nadia, Toyota Noah, Nissan Presage, Nissan Bassara and kombis. The impounded vehicles would be taken to CID Vehicle Theft Squad and Homicide sections for further inspection.
In some of the cases, the robbers would strip naked their victims before dumping them along highways. Most of the vehicles were later recovered after being dumped.
According to statistics, a total of 156 armed robberies were recorded last year in Harare province alone, prompting the police to carry out crime awareness campaigns this year.
Some criminals are offering lifts to unsuspecting passengers while others are pretending to be passengers before robbing the victims of their vehicles, valuables and cash.
Last month, four suspected armed robbers who were terrorising travellers along the country’s major highways were arrested leading to the recovery of various items, including the vehicles they were using in the robberies.
